


No Matter How The Cards Fall

by MyrddinDerwydd



Series: Inktober 2017 - Dragon Age [2]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Dalish Elves, Dwarves, Friendship, Gen, Herald's Rest, Inktober, Inktober 2017, M/M, Reading Thoughts, Spirits, Tavern, Wicked Grace, distraction, playing cards
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-24
Updated: 2017-10-24
Packaged: 2019-01-22 10:50:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12479884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyrddinDerwydd/pseuds/MyrddinDerwydd
Summary: Inktober 6 Prompt: Dwarves, Elves, SpiritsHallenon Souren Lavellan (non-Inquisitor) and Varric are teaching Cole how to play Wicked Grace, and it turns philosophical. Set while Cole is still rather anxious about the events of Adamant, but prior to finding the Alimari amulet. Varric and Hallen were both among those who fell into the Fade.Based on theserules for Wicked Grace outlined by lotusflwr.Thanks to DAFan7711 for beta reading!Writing Masterpost, organized by main character.





	No Matter How The Cards Fall

“Why would I want to?” Cole sounded genuinely puzzled, tilting his head sideways like a curious bird. He’d only taken off the large hat at Hallen’s encouragement, and his lank blonde hair was plastered awkwardly to his head.

“So that you could wash those clothes? I’ve never seen you wear anything else, other than your armor.” Hallen gestured at the young man with half the deck of cards that he was shuffling. “You’re not covered in blood, so you must bathe somehow.”

“No?”

He paused mid-shuffle. The tentative question was somehow an answer, oddly. “No? How are you clean then?”

“Dirt ground in, blood not my own, sweat and grime isn’t supposed to stay… so it goes away.” Cole pointed at the top of the stacked cards. “Is an angel supposed to be on top? You think it’s bad luck.”

“It goes away? Wait, can you see through the cards?”

“No one else lets the blood stay for more than a few days. Am I wrong?” He reached out and flipped the card up on the table between them: the Angel of Kindness. “You saw it as you shuffled - bad omen, feathers at the front, throw the whole game - Why? He looks kind, a nice angel.” Cole’s pale blue eyes were anxious, concerned. “Other people like drawing that card.”

“Don’t do that once we start playing, or it won’t be any fun.” Hallen’s mouth turned up in an amused smile, fascinated at seeing Cole’s abilities firsthand. His quick, rambling words were disorienting, but enlightening. Solas had mentioned that Cole might benefit from a distraction after the chaos of Adamant, and sent him here to the top floor of The Herald’s Rest upon discovering that Hallen didn’t quite remember meeting the unusual spirit. “Here, let me show you the other suits.”

“Alright. Varric thinks that I should have more fun, too.” Cole leaned forward intently as Hallen pulled out cards and laid them on the small table. “Songs, Knights, Daggers, Serpents.” A quick look passed between them as Cole named the last suit. “Serpents make you think of Dorian. He’s quieter, happier, now that you’re here. It’s hard to help him, everything twists inside him after I ask. Words winding, wanting, wishing for unicorns.”

 _What? Unicorns?_ He closed his mouth with a soft laugh. “He would probably be upset if you tell me too much about what he thinks, Cole.” _I cannot forget that he is a spirit_ , he thought. _A spirit of compassion, if Solas is correct._ Tapping the Serpent of Avarice coiled on its pile of gold, he continued. “There are five cards of each suit, all equal. Serpents is the least powerful, followed by Daggers, Songs, Knights, then Angels.”

“Why are Angels bad then? How do they throw the game?”

“Because there’s a sixth angel that’s not so nice, kid,” a gravelly voice called out in amusement.

Varric crested the stairs behind Cole, quieter on his feet than Hallen would have expected. Of course, stealth hadn’t really served them particularly well in the Fade, where everything had simply converged on them. He shuddered inwardly at the memory. Cole was not the only one in need of a little distraction after Adamant.

“Would you care to join us, Varric? Both Dorian and Solas would call me a laughable card player, at best, but I was going to teach Cole how to play for fun.”

Cole looked between the two of them, wringing his hands. “But you want the Angel of Death card! Smirking, quietly waiting, controlling the game while they twist in the wind - why?”

“You cheat and keep it!” Hallen laughed, brown hair falling forward around his long ears as he dropped his forehead onto his hands, elbows on the table.

Varric dropped a stool down beside him, chuckling. “Damn straight I do, the game is called _Wicked_ Grace, after all.” He winked at Cole. “No one except you would catch me at it though, which is the first thing to learn if you want to play cards. Stay out of our heads so you can have fun.”

The look Cole gave the grinning dwarf was the epitome of confusion. “Everyone wants, the same but different, cheating, not cheating, knowing, not seeing--Oh!” A flash of insight brightened his pale face. “Cheating is okay if no one sees.”

“Apparently so, Cole.” Hallen shook his head in exasperation. “But only at cards! Generally, cheating someone will make them angry.”

“Yes, I understand.” Cole watched Varric’s hands nimbly gathering and shuffling the cards, and he dealt five to each of them. “So if someone sees you cheat, I should help them forget?”

“Probably not a good habit to start, kid.” Varric smirked. “Imagine what the Seeker would think about it and you’ll see why.”

“On that rather philosophical note, we should probably finish explaining the rules before we play.”

“One, two, three, two and three, four, five.” Cole glanced between the two as Varric chuckled and Hallen stared in confusion. “Did I get it right? You’ve been thinking about needing to explain it to me.”

“And you pick the top card of either pile, then discard one. Easier than slicing an apple, right kid?”

Cole nodded, pushing his hair out of eyes before chanting in a sing-song voice. “Angels save the Knights and sing their Songs, Daggers in darkness slice the Serpents. You’ve known this game for a long time, Varric. Dorian taught Hallenon, though.”

Cole’s brows pulled together as Hallen smiled at the memory. _It_ was _Dorian’s deck of cards, after all._

“You didn’t need to be naked, but enjoyed it anyway. Both of you won no matter how the cards fell.”

“Aaaand discarding the Angel of Death ends the game,” Varric interrupted with an amused shake of his head. “Which is why it’s cheating to draw it and keep it.”

After a few minutes of drawing cards around the table, Hallen’s blush had faded. Ironically, he held three Serpents, the Angel of Kindness, and the Song of Love. Cole tentatively drew from the top of the deck, glancing up at him as he saw the card’s face.

“I think Hallenon needs me to be honest more than you need me to cheat, Varric.”

They both chuckled as Cole lay the Angel of Death on the table.


End file.
